Give the optionfor developers to useSpatialis interesting, because onlyentering theplatformandstarting touse it eachcontent creatorcanunderstand if the environment is a good resource fortheir game. SpatialOS itis nota virtual world, but an operating system thatallows you to createonlinepersistentmassively gamesand in this senseit seems much moresimilar toProject Sansar rather than to the “old” Second Life, in whichthe contentscould onlybe created, modifiedand distributedwithin the same platform.

SpatialOS hasinsteadgiven rise toa multitude ofvirtual worldsand video gamesof which the mostfamous isperhapsWorlds Adrift (you can see belowavideo trailer), developed by Bossa Studios (already famous for having createdSurgeon Simulator), whose studio chief, Henrique Oilifiers, toldto Gamasutrathat the development ofthis productwould not have beenpossible withoutthe use ofSpatialOS.

Improbablenowleveragingthis successinvitesdevelopers usingthe Unityplatform and with an “ambitious game design” to request access to Development Partner Program so to be able to try SpatialOS understanding the advantages. A strategy that maybe Linden Labshouldlearn to followifit wants to avoidthatProjectSansarremainsa niche product, eve if profitable, ashappenedto SecondLife.

Before you canget tobuild a worldin the wayBruce Branitimaginedit will still takeyears, buttoday, thanks to the new version, the fourth, the graphics engineUnreal Engine, developed by Epic Games, alreadyusedfordozensof successfulvideo gamesincludingEve Online, it is possible fora creativedive intovirtual realityandcreateits contentusing oneof the mostpopulargraphicseditors in the worlddirectly withdevices such asOculus Rift, HTC Vive or Playstation VR.

In Second Life, where, in fact, creative peoplehave given birth toa full market ofuser-generated contents, whether it wastheavatars,outfitsandaccessories for the same, bothofbuildingsorentire setswithwhich to set upthe singlesim. In some ways Linden Labfocusing on the developmentand exploitation ofitsproprietary platformdid not understandthat itcould(and perhaps should)bettocreate a standardandtomake it usableby everyone,becomingitselfanEpic Gamesand offer itsgraphics engineforgame developersand 3Dmovies inVR, as was donewithUnrealEngine4, rather thanwithdraw intotheir own littleniche market.

A nichewhich actuallyrepresentedan impassein evolutionary termsfor thevirtual realityindustry, butthat wasable toprofoundlyinfluence the protagonists of whata few yearsafter would have been the “new” virtual reality. Alegacy thatmay seem more “philosophical” than in termsof licenses (think also abouthowthe ideaofcryptocurrencies like thebitcoinsis linkedto virtualcurrencies liketheLindendollars), but thatis undeniable andis likely to producemorelong-termdevelopments.

Christmas gift in advance for all the fans of Minecraft, the popular sand box game developed by Mojang in which players can create objects and landscape of every kind (we already reported some of the best months ago), even thanks to many mods. So far, thevirtual worldofMojangsawthePC release a cut abovetheconsole release, but the 1.8.8 update of the release for Microsoft Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3 e Playstation 4 (the update for the Playstation Vita should came in a few days, that for the Win U will be released in 2016, asreportedby the developers) should practically eliminatethe gap.

The official blog of Mojang presentsindetailthe bugs fixedandmorefeatures added, the variousnew items,blocksandbiomes (environmentsof various types,in whichthere areoftensome of therarest materialsin the game, such asemeralds, and fulfilling thecharacteristicsofrealenvironmentsthat they gotorecreate). The number ofelements introducedboth for thecreative modeisforall other modesis reallyhighsoI recommend to readthefull liston the blog;tovisually seewhat changeshere’s avideotrailer.

It’s again crowdfundingtimefor virtual realityappliedtothe video game industry, whichseems to be one of the firstandmost interestingareas wheresuch technologycouldfinda large number ofusers, as well asthat of theindoor sports (do you remember of Widerun, the Trieste startup of whichMondivirtuali.itspokea few monthsago?).

For the moment, however, venture capitalistsandideasacceleratorsas the Italian SeedUp, currently in the processofselectionof the first projectsthatcan be accelerated, (pending the launchof an event which we will talk about in 2016) preferred to focuson development ofhardwareandsoftwarerather than contents, even videogames.

Thusmanystartupstrying tolaunch their ownprojectthroughcrowdfundingplatforms: the latestin chronological orderisIncendiary Games, a San Francisco startup which aims to start producingvideo gamesforvirtual reality, whichhas justlaunchedits campaignonKickstarter (you can follow through this link) to finance the development of Death of Dragons, an action role playing in third person inspired by famous franchisee as Path of Exile, Diablo and Zelda. The crowdfunding campaign target of Incendiary Games is to raise 50 thousand dollars by January 8, 2016; at the moment theyhavealreadycollecteddonations for 3,255 dollars from 34 backers.

The plotof the gameis in fullfantasy style: dragons, creaturesoncefeared andrespected, returned to Earthsearching foran artifactso powerfulthatshould it fellinto the wrong handscould mean thedeathofall the existing dragons. If you want tosee at whatlevel of developmentthe IncendiaryGamesguyshave achievedso farandwhat does it meanplaya video game wearing a 3D viewer for virtual reality, take a look at the video below.

Virtual reality, as well as addingimmersion to the experience, lets use the head trackingin a new way: Death of Dragons use head tracking to target monsters or specific body partsonboss monsters. For instance, you can pointto the wingof a dragonandshoot it inthe sky. But Incendiary Games is also developing a new systemto distributerewardsamongplayers wich will be very “VR friendly” and generallymoreinnovative usesof VR technologyapplied to videogames.

Whilewe suggest yougo and readthe complete description of Death of Dragons on the crowdfunding campaign page of Incentiary Games on Kickstarter, we have also to remember how other developers who tried Oculus Rift and other 3D viewershavediscovered that they cangiverise tosome sharingproblems(trivially: many peopledo not likehaving to wearsomethingon theirfaceworn byothers), whichis likely togreatly limitthe applicationof virtual realitycondemningthis technologyfor a personaluse onlythaton exhaustion of the “wow effect” could leadthe playersto putviewersandVRin the corner togo back to usingthe classic, butshareable, game consoleand itscontrollers.

In the era ofsharingthisseemsa limitto be reckoned with. Ifyou want to knowhow it will endthe Incendiary Games crowdfunding campaign for Death of Dragons and overallkeep updated about the latest newson virtual worlds, videogames, virtual and augmented reality, continue to follow Mondivirtuali.it, even through our account on Twitter and our fanpage on Facebook (but remember: Mondivirtuali is also on Flickr, on Pinterest, on Scoop.it, on Paper.li and also on Youtube).

If you like post atomic landscape like that of Fallout 4, the popular post atomic video game of Bethesda which meanwhile saw its 1.2.37 release (withthe launchofsomepatches, especiallyfor the PC version, which correct bugsnoticedimmediately after the launchon November10 andimprove the stabilityand performancesof the game), Second Lifestill has some surprisesto offer, confirmingto beavery versatile platformfor those who love to developgraphical content.

Let’s go to visit Virtual Decay: you will be inadecayingurban environment, wherethewreckageofcarsandmilitary vehicles (evena helicopter) rustmelancholy, whileshops and diners,nowspectral,fill withdust. Aset suitablefor the settingpicture of youravatarin aMad Max style or, exactly, in Fallout 4 style, butalsosuitable forrole-playing gamesthemedpost-atomic. What a pitythat Second Lifehas not had as mass market successfully as was hopedat its debut, in 2006, because it showsto havestillmuch to offerafter overnine years oflife(a record foranysoftware).

But youpress theteleportbuttonbelow andvisittheVirtual Decay sim: as you canalreadyseefrom the picturesthatwe show you (withoutany processingother than thoseallowed by thegraphical editorofSL), youwill not regret it. If you wish tostay up to datenot onlyaboutSecond Lifebuton virtual worlds, virtual andaugmentedreality and technologyin general, you just have to continue to follow Mondivirtuali.it, even through our account on Twitter and our fanpage on Facebook (but remember: Mondivirtuali is also on Flickr, on Pinterest, on Scoop.it, on Paper.li and also on Youtube).

There isa time whena boy goes fromplaying reassuringvideo gameslikeSuper Mariotosomething darkerlike the indie video gameFive Nights at Freddy’s (Fnaf) and tells you thatnot onlythere are alreadyfour chapters (the latest beingdistributedfromAugust 8 2015), playableonPCandsmartphone/tablet iOS and Android ofthissurvival–horror gamedeveloped byScott Cawthon and published for the first time on Dasura August 8, 2014, butalsothatWarner Broshaspicked up the rightsfor a movie adaptation whichwill be produced byRoy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg.

Fnaf will be a Warner Bros movie

The newsabout the movie actuallydates backto earlyApril this year, but so farthere were a few more informations. First of all, Gil Kenan (who previously directed “Monster House”, produced in 2006 by Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, andtheless fortunate “City of Ember” in 2008), whoisbusy thesemonthsalsofilming theremakeof “Poltergeist”, has been chosen as director.

It would seemthatKenanwants to useas little as possibletheCGIanimationand collaboratewithCawthonto createa film that Seth Grahame-Smith would like to be “insane, terrifying and weirdly adorable”, suitable for everyoneand notonly tofans of thehorror genre.

For nowon Kenan’sTwitter andInstagram account(in July and August) appearedthe first picturesof theprops andthe setof the Five Nights at Freddy’spizza(that you see reproducedin this article)and little more.

Kenanhashoweverassuredfansthat the filmwill be faithfulto thegame (althoughit is unclear whetherall fourchaptersof the franchiseewill becited orif the plotwill revolvearoundonly one of them) whilenot yetknownnor the actorsormoretrailers.

Cawthon at work on the fifth chapter of Fnaf

In returnCawthonis already workingon thefifth installmentof the video gamethatwill be releasedin 2016and apparentlywill bequite differentfrom the previous ones, so farwiththescaryanimatronicthatthey will looknicepassingby a“point and click” mechanism to a role playing game.

Since we still aren’t able toofferyoua teaser of the movie, we thinkof doingsomething pleasing toshowthe trailer of thefifth installmentof the video game, called “Sister Location“.

About virtual reality, in particular, you can think that the developmentwill covermore3Dgamesand moviesandsomeniche applicationfortheenterprise market (asthe one thatis starting todeveloptheAmericanstartupEnvelop VR, which has justgot$ 4 million infundingfromMadrona Venture Grouphaving alreadyachieved its first$ 2 millionlast June bya group ofangel investors), witha few tensof million userswithin the nextfive yearswhen the pricesof the deviceswill becompletelyaligned with thoseof the currentvideo gameconsoles.

Theaugmented realitycould insteadhave agrowthaltogethersimilar to that ofcurrent mobile devices, which will in partto cannibalizeexactly assmartphones and tabletshavecannibalizedin turnthe sale offixed phonesand personal computers. Most usersofaugmented realitycouldbelinked to the sector oftelevision and movie, butalsoapplicationsforcompanies, advertisingandthe developmentof appsforsocial media like Facebook or Uber, rather than mobile videogames like Clash of Clans.

Among theremaining challengesarebothtechnical (asthesense ofsicknessfelt by manyusersusing3Dviewersfor virtual reality) and social aspects (privacy mattersrelated to the useofGoogle Glasseshas alreadytalk a lot), but not only: by the timeeach of the majorgroupsthathave begun toinvestin virtual realityis choosing adifferent approach.

Facebook with Oculus Rifthas focusedon virtual reality, for nowneglectingaugmented reality; Google with its Glasses and then with the acquisition of Magic Leapdid exactlythe opposite; Microsoft with Hololens, combinable even withvirtual worlds likeMinecraft, seems to want totakerevenge onApple; Apple itself for nowdid not move; Sonyseems to mean Project Morpheus (now Playstation VR) as a way toextend the lifeof itsgames consolerather than areal “disruptive” innovation. Therewill beroom for everyonein the futureorany of thesegiantswill have toleave the gamewith broken bones?

Meanwhilespace foreveryone who wants totry to developnotonly thehardwarebutcontentthat give amotivationof useto potentialusersstill seemsvery broad, forjoy, among others, of Philip Rosedale and of Ebbe Altbergwhocontinue to believe in virtual worldsandvirtual realityin general. Ifyou want to knowhow it will end, continue to follow Mondivirtuali.it, even through our account on Twitter and our fanpage on Facebook (but remember: Mondivirtuali is also on Flickr, on Pinterest, on Scoop.it, on Paper.li and on Youtube).

Whether it is morecommon to findon the webnews related tokiller asteroidsen routeto Earth or confirmationsof the nextrelease ofHalf Life 3 it is hard to say, butbothmemeareso frequentsince so farunreliable. If the lastkiller asteroidwhich is discussedon theweb is 1862Apollo, a spacestonewith a diameter of1.7 kilometersthatregularlycrossesEarth’s orbitasrefer our friends of Fanwave, in the case ofHalf Life3this time itwould have takenan “indirect” confirmationthanks to the discoveryof atext file placedinDota 2 called, “curiously” hl3.txt.

To announce it wasfirstStream Database which on Twitter explained that “Valve just accidentally pushed a file named hl3.txt to Dota 2 Reborn that seems to be pretty damn interesting” adding that “these files strongly hint at an RPG with quests and procedural spawning. Also includes ziplines, because why not. Crowbar ziplines anyone?”.

If you don’t know Half Life is a franchisee developed by Valve (videogames producer he hadalsohiredthe former ministergreekeconomyYanis Varoufakis like consultant) whose first chapterwaslaunched on 16November 1998 andthe secondon Nov. 16, 2004. The firstchapterwas followed bythree expansions(onein 1999and twoin 2001), thesecond chapterbyanother two(in 2006 and 2007).The game itselfis a shooterfocusedon thecharactersof the scientistGordon Freeman, grapplingwithan unexpected reactiontoan experiment.

Rumors about a possible Half Life 3 (HL3) started at least from 2010, whentheoreticallywould have come outthe next chapter, butValvechosento release,in 2011, Duke Nukem Forever, in its turna long-awaited, anddespiteregularlyValvehasconfirmed its intentionto release thethird and final chapter, yearsare passingand we haveseen onlya few tracesofHL3.

The half-life3.com domain was registered in 1999, in 2006 was announced the arrivalof the gamein Decemberandmentioned apossibleHalf Life4, in 2007 was confirmed that Gordon Freemanwould remainthe main character, between 2007 and 2008 werealsoreleasedsome images (“concept art”), in 2012 begins tospread the wordthat Valvewas developingagraphics engineinviewofHL3, in 2013 the meme “Half Life 3 confirmed” startsto come to life, thanks to the factthat Valveadvanced therequest forregistrationof the trade mark “Half-Life 3” to the Eu authoritiesandsince thenis releasedperiodically. Now it will bethe right time?

If you are fans of virtual worlds and videogames you should well know “Final Fantasy” and maybe you think to know everything about the famous saga (which inspired a digital animation movie of which Mondivirtuali.ithas already spoken) created for Square (from 2003 Square Enix) by Hironobu Sakaguchi, probably the most famous Japanese video game designer, director and producer, who has had an active role in the development of the series until the ninth chapter (on the fifteen chapters through which has so far unfolded the whole story). But maybe you still don’t known some little curious things of Final Fantasy, so let’s discover them.

Final Fantasy: 10 curiosities about it

The name “Final Fantasy” derived from the very first idea that this video game could be the latest work by Square: a wrong prediction seen that the success, lasting over the years, led to the realization of the fourteen sequels (the most recent, the fifteenth chapter, has yet to be deployed even if you have already shown some trailers, the latest at the Tokyo Game Show 2014).

In Final Fantasy VI the main character should have been a boy of about twenty years, but the idea was scrapped in favor of the female character Terra Brandford (half human, half Esper, with the innate gift of magic).

In the same episode, the character of Sabin Rene Figaro (twin brother of Edgar Roni Figaro and like him potential heir to the throne of Figaro Castle, which btw has given up to become a student of martial arts) would have to be drawn with a beard and mustache, assumptions fall in favor of a version of the character perfectly shaved.

In the next Final Fantasy VII appears a portrait of Hironobu Sakaguchi himself hanging on to an inner wall of a house in Rocket Town.

The Buster sword used by the character of Cloude Strife (a guy who thinks he’s a former member of the military corps of Soldier and which represents one of the most famous characters of the whole saga, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII) should have appeared only in the tenth episode of the series, but was then brought forward to the seventh chapter. A decision definitely successful because it has become one of the most famous weapons of the whole universe of Final Fantasy.

About the tenth chapter: in the Usa release of the game Yuna (a seventeen year old girl with the powers of summoner able to invoke the Aeons) tells Tidus (the seventeen year old boy protagonist of the episode) that she loves him, while in the Japanese release she simply thank him for the help he has provided her.

Tidus is also the only main character in an episode of the series to disappear before the end of the episode itself (so that in the sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, place two years after the events of Final Fantasy X, Yuna will go to his research, being able to finally find him, but with the ability for the player to opt for three different endings more or less happy or sad).

One of the most “unlucky” episodes of the saga was Final Fantasy IX: not only it has arrived on the market with the Playstation version a few weeks after Sony kicked off the Playstation 2, but has also what is so far considered the worst official guide to the game strategy.

In addition for the French version it was necessary to rename the main character, Zidane Tribal, in Djidane because it seemed too similar to that of the ace of French football, Zinedine Zidane.

On the other hand Final Fantasy X was the first title to use a “voice acting” (that is a voice actor who gives voice to a character).